Raph's Hidden Gift
by TurtleGirl4Life
Summary: One night Raph goes out for a run in the city but something strange happens to him. Will Raphael's life ever be the same again?
1. Chapter 1) The Fight

One night in the sewers of New York, four turtles were gathered around the TV watching their favorite show, "Space Heros".

"Alright I'm bored." Raphael said, crossing his arms.

"Oh come on Raph, how can you get bored watching Space Heros?" Miley asked, clearly offended by his older brother's words.

Raph rolled his eyes and gave out a small sigh. "Whatever, I'm gonna go see if I can bust some heads if you know what I mean." Raph grabbed his sais and t-phone then headed for the entrance. "I'll call y'all if I see anything serious."

"Be careful." Leo waved.

(On the rooftops)

"Man there's nothing, absolutely..." Raph stopped his sentence short feeling a sharp pain in his head. "What the shell?" Raph looked over to the next rooftop and saw a giant lizard with pitch black skin. It had sharp teeth and claws with glowing green eyes. The lizard creature was staring right at Raph. Then, in a blink of an eye, it was gone. "What tha... OMF!" Raph was knocked off his feet, the lizard right behind him.

"You have something I want." It hissed at Raph. 'It can TALK?!' Raph shouted in his mind. "I am Shadow, and I have been searching years for what you have. And I will not stop until I get what I want!" Shadow lunged at Raphael. Raph ducked out of the way then tried to use his sais to stab Shadow.

Shadow grabbed both of Raph's hands with one hand, and tossed his sais over to the next building with the other. "Why don't you use your ability?" He questioned Raph. "Maybe you need help activating it."

With that said, Shadow gave out a loud screech in Raph's ear, making his headache intensify. Raph screamed in pain. Suddenly more pain, pain he'd never felt before, filled his body. Raph could a handle it.

Shadow stopped screeching and released the now unconscious turtle. "Maybe I'll let you live for now. It might be fun." Shadow gave a cruel laugh then disappeared, leaving Raph on the roof.

(with the others)

"Guys, I think something's wrong." Leo said, looking at his t-phone. "I called Raph four times and he still hasn't responded. He's been gone for over three hours!"

"Maybe his t-phone died?" Donnie guessed. "Never mind, he charged it before he left."

"Go Leonardo, I too sense something is wrong." Splinter said, concern in his voice. "Return home safely and swiftly my sons."

(on the rooftops)

"Guys, Raph should be up ahead, in tracking his t-phone." Donnie shouted, running behind Leo. All of a sudden Leo stopped dead in his tracks, causing Donnie and Mikey to bump into the back of his shell. Leo bent down and picked up two very familiar sais. "Oh no." Donnie whispered.

"Guys look!" Mikey shouted, pointing to the next roof. They all ran to where Mikey was pointing and gasped. There on the roof was Raph asleep, only, he didn't look like himself. The Raph they were looking at had a white bandana and seven different colored crystals lined up across his belt. All the crystals were small except the one in the center, which was bigger and wider.

Leonardo bent down and shook Raph's shoulder. "Raph," he whispered, "Raph wake up please." Raph gave out a slight groan but didn't open his eyes.

"Look at these bruises on his wrists." Donnie stated,"it looks like someone or something was squeezing him... Maybe trying to hold him down." Donnie looked at Mikey and Leo with worry.

"Dudes, I'm freaking out!" Mikey shrieked in panic."What the shell is going on?!"

"Mikey calm down, we need to take Raph home and find out what happened." Leo stated calmly, carefully grabbing Raph's upper body."Donnie, come help me carry Raph."

"Sure thing Leo." Donatello replied, grabbing Raph's lower half."Come on Mikey."


	2. Chapter 2) The Confrontation

"Sensi!" Leo shouted. Splinter opened the door to the dojo.

"Leonardo, what happened to..." his voice trailed off once his eyes landed on Raphael's still form. He recognized the strange crystals on Raph's belt immediately. "Bring Raphael into the dojo." Splinter ordered. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey looked at each other before taking Raph to the dojo. "Lay him down gently." Splinter ordered, pointing to a mat in front of him. Leo and Donnie did as they were told and laid Raph down. Raph mumble quietly but didn't wake. Splinter then sat down in front of Raph's head.

"Sensi, what's wrong with Raph?" Mikey asked. Splinter didn't answer, but instead, began to meditate, placing both hands on Raph's head.

The others knew better then to interrupt or question their sensi when he became serious like that. A few minutes passed, then all of a sudden, Raph's eyes flew open and he sat up gasping. Splinter opened his eyes calmly and looked at Raphael. "Raphael, my son, calm down. It will be alright."

"Where'd he go?" Raph asked, his breath returning to normal.

"Where'd who go Raphie?" Mikey asked, clearly confused.

"That lizard creature... what's his name?... Shadow! That's his name. So where is he?" Raph responded, confusing his brothers even more.

"Raph when we found you, you were unconscious and alone." Donnie said.

"That jerk!" Raph said. "Tosses my sais, holds me down, gives me the worst headache I've ever had, and now he's making me look like a fool! And you guys probably don't even believe me!" Raph finished, crossing his arms.

"Raph, um, I don't think that's all 'Shadow' did to you." Donnie mumbled, afraid of his brother's reaction.

"What do you mean?" Raph asked, now he was the confused one. Raph looked down and gasped. "What the shell?!" He shouted. "What did he do to me?" Raph questioned, now looking from the multicolored crystals to his, now white, bandana.

Splinter sighed. "Raphael, the lizard did not do this to you." He said, knowing there was no way to hide it this time. "You have had this much longer than a few hours. You have had this for years." Splinter finished, closing his eyes.

"So you're saying that Raph's had these... crystals for years?" Leo asked.

"Yes Leonardo." Splinter answered.

"How many years?" Donnie asked.

"Ten years." Splinter's ears went down.

"How come none of us remember? I mean, I would definitely remember this." Mikey stated, still looking at Raph.

"Because I used an ancient Japanese spell to make you all forget." Splinter responded. "I knew you would treat Raphael differently, and I knew Raphael would not be able to handle it." he finished.

"If Shadow didn't give me these crystals, then how did I get them?" Raph asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Splinter looked Raphael in the eyes. "When you were five," he began," you and your brothers wanted to explore the sewers. I felt something bad might happen if I let you go out that night, but you wanted to go out so badly. I decided to let all of us go for a walk. Half way through the walk, you and Michelangelo wondered off.

"When I found the two of you, Michelangelo was crying and injured. And you Raphael, looked as you do now. You were standing in front of Michelangelo, one hand on him, and the other holding your sai, pointing it at something. I looked to see what you were pointing it at and saw a lizard of some sort. It saw me and vanished, then you collapsed and your crystals vanished, or so I thought. I picked you up and took all of us home. Once you all were asleep, I used the spell." Splinter finished, looking down.

"I remember something..." Raph started.

"What is it my son?" Splinter urged.

"I remember Mikey grabbing my arm, saying he saw something. We kept walking and saw something glowing in the water. I grabbed it and the next thing I knew, Mikey was hurt and there was Shadow, trying to kill us. That's all I can remember." Raph finished, closing his eyes.

"You don't remember anything after that?" Leo asked.

"I remember hearing a voice, telling me what each crystal can do." Raph began. "The red one is fire, blue is water, silver is metal, yellow is light, black is darkness, and the white one is mind. It's also the main crystal, it gives me energy." Raph ended with a smile.

"Wow..." Donnie, Mikey, and Leo gasped.


	3. Chapter 3) The Training

(the next day)

"My sons, time for morning training." Splinter announced.

"Morning Sensi!" Mikey greeted happily.

"Good morning Michelangelo." Splinter greeted back.

"Good morning Master Splinter." Leo greeted, bowing respectfully to his father.

"Good morning Leonardo." Splinter bowed back in respect.

"Morning Sensi." Donnie greeted.

"Good morning Donatello." Splinter greeted back with a smile. Splinter was expecting one more greeting but got none. 'Very odd' he thought. "Michelangelo, please go fetch your brother."

"Sure thing Sensi!" Mikey answered, racing out of the dojo and towards their bedrooms. A few minutes later they heard him gasp, "Wow,

guys come check this out!"

Everyone rushed up to Raph's room and froze. There was Raphael, sitting in a medative position in the center of his room. There was a glowing white japanese symbol that meant Raphael on his chest. "Is he meditating?" Donnie asked.

"I believe so my son." Splinter answered.

Raph's eyes snapped open as he looked right at Splinter. His eyes were glowing white, with no other color anywhere. "What are all of you doing in my room?" Raph asked, clearly annoyed by the sudden interruption.

"Raph, what were you doing?" Leo asked, answering a question with a question.

"Training." Raph answered calmly, his eyes now normal and the symbol gone.

"How was that training?" Donnie asked.

"I'm learning how to use the main crystal. I have to meditate to use it." Raph replied, pointing to the biggest crystal.

"How do you use the blue one?" Leo asked.

"This? Oh I remember how it works. Want me to show you?" Raph asked, a small smile spread across his face

"Yeh we do!" Miley cheered.

"Ok." Raph closed his eyes and focused on the closest water he could sense. The next thing the others knew, blue wave-like symbols appeared on Raph's arms and legs. His eyes opened and they were glowing blue.

Donnie felt something wet around his feet. "Gross Mikey. We're all excited and can't wait, but did you really have to go and pee yourself?"

"I DIDN'T DO IT!!" Mikey defended.

Raph let out a small chuckle and continued. The water on the floor slowly circled around Raph's feet before rising off the ground.

"Wow..." Leo began,"Raph that's... BLECH!!" Leo coughed, spitting out the water that drenched his face.

"Told you it wasn't me!" Mikey exclaimed.

"That's how I use the blue one." Raph smirked, the symbols fading away and his eyes returning to normal.

"Very interesting my son." Splinter smiled.

(four weeks later)

"Come on Raph, no more fire!" Mikey pleaded. It was training time and Raph's abilities had improved greatly.

"Raphael," Splinter began," no more fire."

"Hie Sensi. Is light ok?" Raph asked, already forming light in his hands.

"No Raphael, try using your sais."

"Aww ok." Raph said, grabbing his sais.

"Finally, a fare fight." Miley cheered, spinning his nunchucks at Raph. Raph blocked both of Mikey's swings, sliding left and right.

"Very good Raphael." Splinter announced. "Michelangelo, do not swing randomly, focus."

"Hie Sensi." Mikey panted, but completely ignored his father's words and continued swinging randomly. All of a sudden Raph froze. Mikey swung one last time and BAM!! Mikey's nunchuck hit Raph right in the head. Raph collapsed onto the floor. "OH NO RAPH!" Mikey shrieked, "I'm sooo sorry!"

"Raph, you ok?" Leo asked, getting up from his spot on the floor with Donnie right beside him.

"Raphael?" Splinter got up as well. Donnie turned Raph over and gasped. Raph was in his main crystal form.

"Guys I think something's wrong." Donnie said.

"Why, is it because he's meditating?" Mikey asked.

"That's the thing, he said that he can only use that crystal to meditate. But he's not meditating, his eyes are wide open!"

"Then what's the problem?" Leo asked.

"I am!" A voice shouted from somewhere in the room. Splinter looked up and saw a lizard creature standing on a tree branch.

"Do you think that's... Shadow?" Mikey asked.


	4. Chapter 4) Captured

"Ah so you've heard of me." Shadow spoke, jumping off of the tree and onto the ground. Splinter stepped in front of his sons. "Oh there's no need for that." He laughed.

"Wait a minute," Leo stated,"you're the one who hurt Raph on the rooftops!"

"Yes, I've helped the little turtle, reactivate, his abilities." Shadow answered, slowly making his way to Raphael's still body. "You know, the turtle's used almost all of his abilities. Almost."

"Raph's used all his crystals, so what do you mean almost?" Mikey asked, slowly reaching for his weapons.

"Actually Mikey,Raph never used the black one." Donnie mumbled.

"Oh yeh. Come to think of it, Raph never even considered using that one."

"And have you ever wondered why Raphael never used it?" Shadow questioned, now towering over Raph. "Maybe it's because he fears it." With that said, Shadow bent down and pressed a claw on Raph's black crystal.

Raph shut his eyes tight and groaned. The symbol disappeared and black, jagged-like markings appeared on his arms and legs. His eyes were now jet black. Shadow took his claw off of Raph's crystal and smiled. Raph slowly blinked open his eyes and glared at Shadow. Shadow just smiled down at Raph and laughed when Raph was to weak to sit up. "What are you doing here?" He asked weakly.

"Why, you didn't think I would just let you go those many weeks ago, did you?"

"How did you find us?" Leo asked, holding his katana blades out in front of him.

"I followed his energy." He answered, smiling down at Raph who was now on his knees, shaking.

Raph was breathing hard, trying to calm down but something was keeping him from doing just that. 'Why can't I change back?!' Raph thought, trying to return to his normal form. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't return to his normal form. Raph began to panic. He was trapped, trapped from his own form!

"You can't get out of your dark form little turtle." He spoke, pointing at Raph's black crystal. Raph looked down and gasped. It was cracked!

"You... you cracked it..." Raph whispered.

"Yes I did," Shadow said with a smile, "it hurts, doesn't it?" Raph couldn't answer, he was in to much pain.

Raph groaned, something felt wrong. He hissed in pain and put one hand on his crystals and the other on the floor. Then, the floor under Raph began to darken. The tree began to make a loud creaking noise. The tree was dying, the petals dissolving before they even hit the ground.

Shadow laughed at Raphael's family. They were standing by the door now, afraid looks on their faces. Shadow turned back to Raph. He now had both hands clutching his head, eyes open wide.

Leo gasped. Raph had tears forming in his jet black eyes, he was hurting that much. Leo growled deep in his throat. He was mad, no, beyond mad at Shadow. How dare he break into their home and hurt his little brother!

Splinter couldn't take his eyes off his son. He wanted to rush over and hold Raphael in his arms. He wanted to tell him that everything would be ok. But he knew, deep down he knew, that everything won't be ok.

Raph felt woozy and light headed. Shadow's smile grew even bigger. 'The turtle's about to pass out.' "You don't look so good," he began, "maybe you should take a nap." With that said, he pushed Raph over onto his side. Raph passed out before he hit the ground.

"Raph!!" Mikey shouted in concern and horror.

"Well, I'd love to stay a little longer, but I've got more important matters to attend to." Shadow said, picking Raph up by the back of his shell.

"No!!!" The others shouted. Shadow gave out a cool laughed as he watched the others run towards him. Raph cracked open his eyes and shakily stretched his arm out toward his family.

Leo stretched out his hand, desperately reaching for Raph. When Leo was almost able to touch Raphael's hand, Shadow teleported, taking Raph with him. "Raph... no." Leo whispered, falling to his knees.


	5. Chapter 5) The Plan

Leo stared spot where Raph use to be. He was so close to reaching Raph when they vanished.

"We've gotta go after them!" Mikey shouted scared for his older brother.

" Mikey, we can't. We don't know where they went." Donnie said, looking down in shame. 'I could have saved him. But I just stood there and watched Shadow take him!'

"Why can't we just go search the city?" Michelangelo asked.

"Because," Splinter began, "they are not in the city."

"How do you know?"Leo asked, standing up.

"I cannot sense him in anywhere in the city." he explained.

"Then where is he?" Mikey asked.

"I am afraid I do not know." Splinter said, bowing his head.

"Maybe I can track his t-phone!" Donnie said, already racing towards the lad.

"Good idea Donnie!" Leo said, following him into the lab.'Don't worry Raph, we'll find you.'

(with Raph)

Raph groaned in pain. Everything hurt. What did he do to make everything hurt so much? Raph couldn't think straight and his vision was blurry.

When his headache lessened and his vision cleared, he remembered everything. The fight with Shadow, him using his powers, Shadow breaking into his home and...

It was said that Raphael realized he was tied down to a metal table. He looked at his surroundings and realized that he was in a lab of some sort. There was lab equipment everywhere. There were cages,big and small, lined up across a walk.

Raph tried to break free, but the straps holding him down were too tight. Raph let out an annoyed sigh. He heard movement coming from a corner in the room and saw Shadow looking at him.

"I'm glad you finally decided to join me." Shadow laughed, walking towards Raphael looking at his crystals with a smile.

Raph looked down at his crystals and gasped. Each of his crystals had a wire attached to it and were broken! All of Raph's symbols were on his body, even his main crystal's symbol. "What did you do to me?!" Raph shouted,fighting against his restraints even harder.

"I'm simply trying to remove the crystals. I need their energy." Shadow smiled, walking to a table with different chemicals on it before grabbing a needle filled with a strange green liquid. "There is one problem," he began, "as much as I like seeing you in pain, you're going to have to go back to sleep."

With that said, Shadow stuck the needle into Raph's arm, injecting the green liquid into his blood stream. Raph groaned in pain. Suddenly, it became harder to open his eyes. Soon Raphael was in a deep sleep.

(with the others)

"Ok," Donnie began, "so here's where Raph's t-phone says he's at." He finished, grabbing the coordinates from the printer. "What the... this can't be right... How did he get there?" Donnie asked himself.

"Where is he Don?" Leo asked, concerned for his brother.

"He's in some dimension called Nethrak."

"Nethrak?" Mikey and Leo asked in unison.

"Yes, that's what this says." Donnie answered, clearly just as confused.

"Well, let's go to Nethrak." Mikey said, jumping out of his seat.

"Mikey, we can't just run into a different dimension without a plan. Besides, we don't even know how to get there." Leonardo sighed.

"We might not know how to get there." Donnie said. "But we know someone who does."


	6. Chapter 6) Utroms

Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Splinter all gathered into the Shell Racer. "Donnie, where are we going?" Leo asked, jumping into the driver's seat.

"We're going to the Utroms. They're the only ones who can help us get to a different dimension." Donnie replied, getting into his seat.

"How do you know they can help us Donatello?" Splinter asked, sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Because they have a portal for every dimension."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go save Raph!" Mikey said, trying to brighten the mood.

(Ten minutes later)

"Ok, we're here." Leo announced, getting out of his seat. They all walked towards the entrance of the Utrom's headquarters when they heard a voice behind theme.

"What are you doing here?" The voice asked. Leo turned around and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. There, standing in front of them, was Bishop, the Utrom's leader.

"Bishop!" Mikey cheered, glad to see a friend, not foe.

"Hello Michelangelo." Bishop greeted.

"Bishop, we need your help." Donnie said, stepping towards him.

"Of corse Donatello. What are you needing assistance with?" Bishop asked.

"Well, Raph's been taken from us by a alien lizard named Shadow." Donnie stopped, wondering how Raph was doing and hoping he was ok.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked, placing a hand on his older brother's shoulder.

"Wha?" Donnie asked, coming back to reality.

"You zoned out on us Don." Mikey told him.

"Sorry, where was I?" Donnie asked himself. "Oh yeh. We tracked his t-phone to a dimension called Nethrak." He finished.

"And we were wondering if you might be able to help us." Leo added.

"Please?" Splinter asked politely.

"I do believe we have a portal to that place,but going there will be risky. You might not make it back." Bishop warned.

"Well I don't care." Mikey said. "Raph's there and in trouble,someone has to help." The others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Very well, fallow me." Bishop said, heading into the building. Everyone followed him and walked into the room where they kept the portals. There were several portals, all lined up on the walls. There were computer-like machines in the center of the room.

"This is our transportation room." Bishop explained. "This is where we store all of our portals. And here," he began, stopping in the center of the room, " is where we monitor any and all activity that goes on in the portals." He finished, putting his hands behind his back.

"This is amazing!" Donnie shouted.

Bishop lead them to a portal and press the button, turning the portal on. Everyone stared in amazement. "Here is the portal that leads to Nethrak, you should be able to breath there." Bishop said.

"Thank you." Splinter thanked, walking towards the portal with his sons following close behind.

"Wait, how are we gonna get back once we find Raph?" Mikey asked, panic in his voice.

"Take this," Bishop said, handing Donatello a small white object. "It's an Utrom communicator. Once you have your brother, use this and we will open the portal in your location." Bishop explained.

'We're coming for you Raph.' Leo thought to himself. Everyone ran through the portal, and once everyone was on the other side it's closed.

"Wow..." mikey gasped.


	7. Chapter 7) Nethrak

Nethrak looked like Mars. Red, dry, and sandy. The only difference was that they could breath, and there was a building a few feet away... wait what?

Leo looked at the building and wondered if that was where his brother was. "We need to head there." Leo ordered, pointing to the building.

"How do you know?" Mikey asked, clearly not getting the idea.

"Because it looks cool." Leo said sarcastically. "You shell brain, it's the only place here!" He finished, smacking Mikey on the back of his head.

"Ow... what was that for?" Mikey wined, rubbing his head.

"Because you were being stupid." Donnie answered.

"Sorry Master Splinter." Leo said.

"Sorry." Mikey and Donnie said.

"So, how are we gonna get in there without getting caught?" Donnie asked, trying to figure out how they can get in.

"Maybe we can sneak in through the windows..." Leo said, looking around for a window. When he found one he motioned for the others to follow. Leo pulled on the window but it wouldn't budge.

"Let me try." Donatello said, grabbing his bow staff and unsheathing his hidden blade. He then jabbed the blade through the lock, prying the window open.

"Well done Donatello." Splinter complimented, climbing through the window. The others followed him him through and down a hall. "My Sons, we must be quiet. Try not to draw any attention."

"Um Sensei, how are we gonna find Raph? This place is huge!" Mikey asked, whispering in a panicked tone.

"Yeh Sensei," Donnie added, "we shouldn't split up, we might get lost."

Splinter closed his eyes and sighed. "We will not split up, but we must move swiftly and silently. We will check every room we find, and hope we find Raphael in time. We must hurry."

(with Raph)

Raph groaned in pain. Shadow was looking through a box, trying to find something to pull the crystals off with. So far none of his attempts have worked, making him even madder.

"What does it take to remove a crystal from a turtle's shell? Can't a Nethrakin get a break?" Shadow asked himself.

Raph was still trying to wake up fully and not think of what that creep was doing. His head was pounding and his chest felt like it was being stabbed by burning knives. Raph wanted to go back to sleep where he could ignore all this pain. He wanted to run from reality and escape back into the peaceful world of dreams.

But at the same time, he wanted to stay awake. He knew that if he went back to sleep, he would wake up in more pain, or he might not wake up at all. With that thought in mind, Raph was able to fully wake up.

Raph hesitated before looking down at his chest the best he could. His shell had blood all over it, mostly dried but some fresh. His crystals were still cracked, and they still hurt, but the wires were gone.

Raph still had all the symbols on him, and he still couldn't do anything about it. Raph looked back over to where Shadow was. Shadow was still looking through his boxes, he hadn't looked back at Raph yet.

"You know, I'm not giving up just because you're making this difficult. You're honestly just making it worse for yourself." Shadow said, turning around to face Raph.

"What...do you want?" Raph asked weakly.

"I thought I already told you. I want your crystals." Shadow replied, sounding more annoyed than earlier. "You know, I never thought of what might happen if I killed you now."

Raph wasn't paying any attention to what Shadow was saying, he felt as if he was going to pass out again. But just as he was about to slip back into the darkness of sleep, he heard an all to familiar voice call out his name. That was the last thing he heard before he blacked out completely.


	8. Chapter 8) Raph’s New Form

Leo approached another door, hoping Raph would be in this room. They had searched over eight different rooms and three different halls.

Leo heard a voice coming from this room."You know, I never thought of what might happen if I killed you now." The voice said.

Before Leo could stop himself, he shouted out his brother's name. "Raph!" He shouted.

Shadow stopped dead in his tracks. "Who's there?" He demanded. "Who's in my lab?" Shadow swung the door open only to find the halls empty.

Shadow walked back over to Raphael's still form. "Before I can go deal with the trespassers, I need to make sure you won't try to escape while I'm gone." Shadow pulled out a needle stuck it in Raph's arm, injecting the tranquilizer into Raph's blood, sending Raph into an even deeper sleep. Shadow then teleported out of the room.

Splinter waited till everything was quiet then motioned for his sons to be quiet. They stepped out of the room they were hiding in and slowly walked into the room Raph was in.

When Splinter caught sight of Raphael, his eyes widened. He rushed over to Raph and waisted no time in undoing the straps holding his son down. "Donatello, help me untie Raphael." Splinter ordered.

Donnie rushed over and began helping his father. 'Oh Raph, what did he do to you?' Donnie thought, undoing the last straps. "Mikey, I need you to help me carry..."

Donnie stopped his sentence short. Splinter picked Raphael up in his arms as if it was nothing. "Come my sons, we must leave here."

"Now why would you want to do that? You just got here." Shadow questioned, stepping in front of the door.

Splinter put Raphael back down on the table, being as gentle as he could. The others drew their weapons. Leo drew out his swords, giving one to Splinter. "You will pay for what you have done." Splinter growled.

Shadow laughed out loud. "It's funny, you think I'm gonna pay. Really, I'm just gonna kill all of you."

"I'll show you funny!" Mikey shouted, lunging himself towards Shadow. With a blink of an eye Shadow vanished, just to reappear behind Mikey.

Mikey didn't have enough time to comprehend what was going on, and before he knew it, his head collided with the wall sending him crumbling to the ground.

Donnie was next to attack, swinging his bow-staff at Shadow, only to have Shadow snatch the bow out of his hands and hit him on the back of the head with it, sending Donnie flying across the room.

"Donnie!" Leo shouted, racing towards Shadow with his katana aiming for Shadow's side. Shadow jumped out of the way just as Leo was about to stab him. And before Leo knew it, Shadow had pinned him down, holding one of his katanas in his hand.

"Is this really how you trained them rat? If so it's just pathetic." Shadow teased. Splinter glared daggers at Shadow, but didn't move.

Shadow then dropped Leo and lunged at Splinter, the katana aimed to kill. But before he was able to jab the sword into Splinter, a bright light appeared in between them.


	9. Chapter 9) Never Again

When the light finally faded, and Shadow was finally able to see what was going on, he gasped. "How?"

There, standing in-between Shadow and Splinter, was Raphael. His symbols and crystals were gone, and so was the blood. His bandana and eyes were glowing white, and he had a white glow around him.

Splinter turned to look at the table where they placed Raph and saw he was still there. This confused Splinter until it struck him. Raphael was a spirit! "Raphael, my son, how?" Splinter asked.

"Well, you know how my main crystal is used for meditation? Apparently if all my crystals are broken, and if I concentrate real hard, I can go into this... this spirit form." Raph explained. He then turned to face Shadow. "I don't know what's funnier. You thinking you could get my crystals, or you thinking your plan would work." Raph joked, using the same pun Shadow used.

"This is impossible!" Shadow shouted, slowly backing away from Raph's spirit. "This can't be happening. No! I won't give up now, not when I'm so close!" Shadow screamed, lunging at Raph.

Raph saw what he was about to do and stuck his hand out, blocking Shadow's fist just as it was about to collide with his face.

The others could do nothing but watch in amazement. Their brother was fighting in spirit form! Leo had read that it took masters years of practice to be in spirit form for less than a minute. Yet here Raph was, fighting an alien in spirit form!

Then, all of a sudden, Raph's spirit vanished. Shadow waited for something to happen but nothing did. "Ha!" Shadow cheered. "I win! You thought you could defeat... OUCH!" Shadow was struck in the head with a metal table.

Shadow turned around and saw Raphael, his crystals healed and the symbols gone. "Don't get your hopes up just yet." Raph smiled, his eyes glowing red and flame symbols appeared on his arms and legs. His fists turning into flames.

"You kidnapped me..." Raph began, throwing a fiery punch at Shadow. "Tortured me..." He continued, theowing another punch. "And worst of all..." he grabbed Shadow by the neck, bringing his fist back ready to deliver the final punch. "You messes with my family." Raph finished, punching Shadow as hard as he could.

Shadow was trying to get back up but couldn't. "You'll never hurt my family ever again!" Raph shouted, flames surrounding him and Shadow. When the flames died down, only Raph could be seen.

The others came closer to Raph and saw a pile of ashes in front of him. Then Raph's eyes turned grey and grey blobs formed on his skin. He was using his metal form.

Raph acted like he was pulling something apart, and when his hands came apart, so did the metal floor in front of him. Shadow's ashes fell threw the crack and when Raph clapped his hands together, the floor closed back.

"You'll never hurt my family." Raph stated. "Never again."


	10. Chapter 10) Relax

"Wow..." Raph's brothers gasped unition.

"That was AMAZING!!" Mikey cheered. Raph just chuckled lightly before wincing. He looked down and saw his wounds were still bleeding some.

"Don't worry Raph," Donnie said, placing a hand on Raph's shoulder. "I'll get you fixed up."

"Thanks Don." Raph thanked with a smile.

"Raphael, my son, I am so thankful you are alright." Splinter spoke, engulfing Raph and I hug, which Raph greatly excepted. The other soon joined in. "Let us go home my sons."

With that said, Donnie contacted the Utroms and they went home.

(the next day)

"Hey guys." April called, entering the layer.

"Hey April." The others greeted, sitting on the couch watching the news.

"Wow Raph, what happened to you?" April asked, now noticing Raph's new look. Raph told April what had happened the past few days, and all April could do was listen and stare in amazement. When Raph finished, April's eyes were wide in shock.

"Wow..." Was all she could say.

"That Shadow guy was a little crazy." Leo said, smiling at Raph.

"He had some really interesting lab equipment." Donnie added, standing up to get some water.

"To bad he didn't have any sun screen." Mikey joked, earning groans and 'boos' from the others. Splinter just chuckled when Mikey gave a gsheepish grin.

"At least he's burned to a crisp." April said, sitting by Mikey by the couch.

"I believe we should leave Shadow buried with his ashes." Splinter said.

"That sounds like a good idea Sensi." Raph agreed.

"So Raph, what are ya gonna do about those crystals?" April asked, pointing at Raph's belt.

"Honestly I don't know."

"Well, I know whatever happens, we'll deal with it as a family." Leo announced.

"Oh gosh Leo, that was the corniest thing you've ever said." Raph teased, giving out a laugh.

"Oh yeh?" Leo questioned, standing up from his seat.

"Yeh." Raph said, getting up as well. The next thing the others knew, Leo and Raph were wrestling on the floor. Donnie and April just smiled down at them while Mikey cheered them on.

"Boys." Splinter sighed quietly. He let a small smile spread across his face l, happy everything was going to be alright.


End file.
